"We're not out of the woods, as it could kick back and strengthen, but I'm confident if it holds up as it is now, we should be OK," Parish President B

As Tropical Storm Isaac moves towards its Plaquemines Parish landfall, trees here whirl from increasing winds, the sky has turned white, and there is a baited sense of relief. If recent morning weather models hold true, the levees at lower end of the parish will hold.

"We're not out of the woods, as it could kick back and strengthen, but I'm confident if it holds up as it is now, we should be OK," Parish President Billy Nungesser said this morning. "The worst case scenario is it slows down, sits out there, and builds strength."

Current NOAA and National Weather Service models predict a 5.5-foot storm surge on the east bank and a 4.5-foot storm surge on the west bank of the parish. The parish has a 9-foot-tall levee on the east bank and a 5-foot levee on the lower part from Ironton to Venice.

The SLOSH model - Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes model - computes storm surge heights from hurricanes using pressure, size, forward speed and create a model of the wind patterns that push the water around.

NOAA and the National Weather Service's more general tide level predications for the metro New Orleans area - less specific models that simply look more holistically at the area - still have not altered since Monday and therefore continue to place storm surge at between 7 to 11 feet on the east bank and 6 to 9 feet on the west bank.

Another round of reports from the National Weather Service will arrive later this morning.

The Belle Chasse/Scarsdale Ferry is closing this morning because the winds now are too high, with the last east bank ferry leaving at 9:45 a.m. and the last west bank ferry at 10 a.m. East Bank residents can use Louisiana 39 as an alternative route. Marina Road in Myrtle Grove will close at 2 p.m. today.

Meanwhile at midnight, the Army Corps of Engineer closed Louisiana 23 in Oakville. While there currently is an emergency access route that stretches around it onto the Mississippi River levee, Plaquemines is working to construct a ramp over that closed gate. The corps, which predicts about a foot of water over that section of roadway, allegedly couldn't entirely close that roadway gate and so is using Hesco baskets, similar to wire trash cans lined with fabric, to complete that barrier.

So far there are 357 residents in Belle Chasse shelters. Currently the Belle Chasse Auditorium, 8398 Louisiana 23, and the Belle Chasse High School's gym, 8346 Louisiana 23, are filled up, but the parish now also is taking residents in the Lion's Club at the Crossroads Church, 308 Avenue J in Belle Chasse.

Throughout the morning, Nungesser has been fielding calls and holding in person interviews in the Government Complex's Emergency Operations Center with national and local television stations including CNN, Good Morning America and the CBS Evening News.